Fact Sheet (Jan. 15) describing the non-union companies' termination of the expired contract
From Concretepumping
FACT SHEET
on the Concrete Pumpers’ Contract
January 15, 2008
The purpose of this Fact Sheet is to explain the current situation with the concrete pumpers’ master contract. Recent press coverage has done a poor job of explaining the facts and history of this dispute and of accurately presenting the Union’s position on the matter. What’s going on?
As of this writing, there are two Union concrete pumping companies in Western Washington: Conco Concrete Pumping and All-American Concrete Pumping. The new master agreement was voted on and approved, first by Operating Engineers Local 302 and Local 612 members at Conco, and then the agreement was subsequently signed by All-American. (The contract is posted at our website: www.iuoe302.org). All other concrete pumping companies are now considered non-union. Local 302 is urging all concrete pumping companies to sign the new master agreement. If they don’t, they are choosing to remain non-union.
What happened to the old master contract?
The old contract expired on Dec. 31, and the pumping companies terminated their relationship with the Union upon its expiration.
Before its expiration, Local 302 attempted to negotiate a new agreement with all signatory contractors. A last-minute substandard contract offer from Brundage Bone, Ralph’s and Pacific—presented through their attorney, John Payne—was put to a vote of the members on Dec. 30. The Union recommended rejection of that offer, explaining: “(The employers) will have an opportunity to present a better offer. If they opt not to make a better offer then those employed by those companies will not be covered by a union agreement. You will not be asked to strike. These companies will simply be non-union.” (See our Dec. 28 entry from our regular member updates on the status of talks.) That’s exactly what happened. Members at those three companies rejected the contract and their employers did not respond with a better offer. They didn’t respond at all. So they became non-union contractors.
The first company to return to the bargaining table was Conco. They offered a strong proposal and the Union recommended acceptance. Local 302 and 612 members at Conco voted to approve the contract on Jan. 4. (See our report to members on that vote, and our news release about the contract.) The Union announced that it considered this new contract to be the new master agreement and invited all concrete pumping companies to sign it. On Jan. 11, All-American joined Conco in signing the contract.
Local 302 continues to invite all companies to become signatory to the master agreement.
Why are some Local 302 members upset about the new contract?
Some Local 302 members at Brundage Bone, Ralph’s and Pacific are upset with the Union. They have become convinced that the old two-tiered master agreement and its two sets of benefits -- one with the Union’s defined-benefit pension and fringes, and the other with a 401(k) and company fringes -- is better. They are upset that the Union refuses to negotiate an agreement for them separate from the new master agreement.
Local 302 has no interest in negotiating separate contracts that undercut each other. That’s the whole point of a master contract. To create a level playing field where all signatory companies compete based on efficiency and quality of work, and not on who can pay their employees the least -- or convince more employees to take a cheaper set of benefits. The Union considers the new master contract to be a dramatic step forward for concrete pumpers and will not undercut Local 302 members who voted for that contract by negotiating for something less with their competitors.
Will Local 302 members at these non-union companies lose their jobs because of the Union?
If non-union pumping companies refuse to sign the new master agreement and lose projects as a result, THEY are putting their employees out of work. This Union will not have any substandard contract forced upon it just because some company wants access to Union work. All Local 302 members who work at Brundage Bone, Ralph’s, Pacific and every other company that terminated its contract on Dec. 31 have been urged to sign up for work opportunities at Dispatch. That is their right as members. There are job opportunities available right now at Union pumping companies. One concrete pumper even got dispatched to work directly for a general contractors and is now getting paid even higher wages under IUOE 302’s A.G.C. Master Labor Agreement.
The work isn’t disappearing. Union pumping will be done by Union pumpers. If Local 302 members choose to remain working for non-union companies instead of getting on the list at Dispatch, and they subsequently lose their jobs because their employer refuses to sign the new agreement, that is their choice.
What happened at the Friday, Jan. 11 protest outside the Local 302 Union Hall?
Brundage Bone, Ralph’s and Pacific shut down their jobs that Friday and urged their employees to attend a protest in front of the Local 302 hall in Bothell. (One leaflet said the protest was a “MANDATORY meeting for all Ralph’s concrete pumpers.”) Between 50 and 60 Local 302 members marched on the sidewalks alongside management representatives from their non-union companies, and those companies’ attorney, John Payne.
Members at the rally expressed their frustration that their employers are losing Union work and urged the Union to negotiate a new contract separate from the new master agreement. The Union met with the members and explained that Local 302 has no intention of negotiating a different contract that undercuts the new master agreement and urged all members to register at Dispatch for Union pumping jobs.
Are pickets going to happen to shut down job sites with non-union pumpers?
Local 302 has notified all general contractors which pumping companies have signed the new contract agreement, and which are now non-union. In many cases, those contractors have already replaced non-union pumpers with Union pumpers. At this time, Local 302 has not endorsed any job actions.
However, rumors have circulated that some of the non-union companies may again organize protests like the Jan. 11 protest, but this time at job sites. Local 302 has spread the word that any such protest is NOT a picket line, and therefore all Union members should feel free to have access to their job sites or Union hall. Bonafide picket lines hinge on the existence of an employer-employee relationship. There is no such relationship between Local 302 and these non-union concrete pumping companies, nor is there one between the non-union companies’ employees and the unionized concrete pumping companies.
